This is a BLOG from Mark Cochrane of Business Strategies Group in Hong Kong. We've been keeping a close watch on B2B media and business information in Asia since 2000 and look forward to sharing insights with you.

Friday, September 28, 2012

News this week: Messe Düsseldorf will launch a new footwear trade fair in
Shanghai - GDS Select – Premium European Shoe Fair. GDS Select will be held
from 17th to 19th April 2013 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

The new fair will be part of the China International Footwear &
Leathergoods Exhibition (CIFL) and will be supported by the China
Commerce Association for General Merchandise (CCAGM). Messe Dusseldorf also plans to launch a Beijing edition of GDS
Select in autumn 2013 together with the CHIC fashion fair.

GDS Select 2013 will showcase selected international brands and the fair
will be open to trade visitors from the retail fashion industry. The organiser
expects the fair to occupy an exhibition space of more than 20,000 m2
and to feature approximately 200 exhibitors.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: The Hong Kong Trade Development
Council (HKTDC) concluded its five-day Hong
Kong Watch & Clock Fair with more than 17,500 buyers – an increase of
4.5% over last year’s edition. According to the HKTDC, emerging market buyers
were up significantly, particularly those from Iran (up 32%), mainland China
(up 17%) and Russia (up 17%).

The Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair reportedly attracted 720
exhibitors from 12 countries and regions and is co-organised by the HKTDC Hong
Kong Watch Manufacturers Association and The Federation of Hong Kong Watch
Trades and Industries. The event ran from 5th to 9th
September at the Hong Kong Convention and
Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) hosted the
eight edition of the Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair featuring more
than 200 companies from 12 countries. Over 60% of the total number of
exhibitors (126 of 200) were from China. The fair which closed on 27th
September focuses on machines, electronics, clothing and vehicles.

O Il Hun, vice director of the Korean International
Exhibition Corporation, was quoted as saying, “The annual trade fair plays a
positive role in expanding economic relations among countries through joint
ventures, investment and science and technology exchanges.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week:
Hangzhou-based e-commerce company, Alibaba
Group, will reportedly spin-off its mobile operating system (OS)
development team from its Aliyun subsidiary.
This announcement follows the cancellation last week of the Alibaba-Acer smartphone
launch.

According to an internal memo from company CEO Jack Ma, the Alibaba
Group will invest US$200 million to expand the mobile OS team. The smartphone
launch and news conference was cancelled at the last minute as Google stepped-in to halt what Google
deemed to be a breach of its Android Open Handset Alliance agreement by Acer.

Jack Ma’s company memo reportedly read, “To better safeguard
the healthy growth of Aliyun OS business and further implement the Group’s
Aliyun wireless strategy, we need to make adjustments in terms of talent,
organisational structure and the Group’s
resource allocation.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: Earlier this week, international exhibition organiser, Reed
Exhibitions, announced the
promotion of Dan Londero to Regional President for Turkey, India and the Middle
East.

Chairman and CEO of Reed Exhibitions, Mike Rusbridge, said, “The
formation of Reed Tuyap in Turkey, Reed Manch in India and new partnerships in the Middle East meant that additional
senior management capacity was needed in order to meet growth expectations.”

In the meantime, Londero will continue to serve as Global Head of Sales at
Reed’s export division. Londero was quoted, “Our global network, which provides
valuable support to our customers entering new geographies, will play a
significant role in bringing new business into the regions. With experienced
local teams focused on adding value for our customers and a strong portfolio of
events we look forward to an exciting period of accelerated growth.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: UBM Asia, subsidiary of UBM plc., announced the launch of the inaugural Livestock Myanmar Expo at the
Tatmadaw Exhibition Hall. The inaugural event will run from 24th to 26th
October 2013.

Livestock Myanmar will focus on animal husbandry, animal
health and bio-security, grain & feed production and the aqua-culture
sectors. The event is supported by the Myanmar Livestock Federation and will also
feature a 500-delegate conference.

Dr. Mya Han (B,V.S), Chairman of the Myanmar Livestock
Federation commented, “The Myanmar Livestock Federation is delighted to support
Livestock Myanmar 2013 Expo & Forum as it provides a great occasion for all
industry professionals and players including farmers, integrators, feed
millers, mixers, veterinarians and processors to convene and exchange their
invaluable experiences, ideas and innovation while at the same time it will
foster valuable partnerships between Myanmar companies and international
enterprises.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

AAITF Jakarta will be
the first aftermarket auto parts trade fair in Indonesia. The event will be
held in Hall B of Jakarta
International Expo (JIExpo) – which has available space of 3,900 m2.
The exact date of the fair has not yet been announced, but it will run over three
days from a Wednesday to a Friday. The organisers expect more than 170
companies to showcase their products to about 10,000 trade buyers.

Tarsus’ partner, Dyandra
Promosindo, is a leading professional exhibition organiser established in
Indonesia in 1994. Dyandra has organised more than 200 exhibitions in Jakarta
and in other major cities across Indonesia.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

Friday, September 21, 2012

News this week: The Thailand
Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)
has released details of its “2013 Strategic Plan for Thailand’s MICE industry.”
Mr. Thongchai Sridama, Acting Director of TCEB noted, “For 2012, TCEB set a
target of 750,000 MICE visitors to Thailand, generating revenues of over 60.12
billion Baht (US$1.95 billion). So far, in the first three quarters of this
year, we have already welcomed 639,590 MICE visitors, with revenues estimated
at 59 billion Baht (US$1.9 billion). We are therefore confident of meeting or
exceeding our annual target this year.”

In 2013, TCEB expects the MICE industry will grow by 7% or more and the
agency has set a target of 792,000 MICE visitors and revenues of 63.9 billion Baht
(US$2.1 billion).

The 2013 budget will be 870 million Baht of which there are four key
areas of focus: management (17% of the total budget), attracting overseas
events (37%), market promotion activities (27%) and development activities
comprising 19% of the total budget.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

According to Global
Sources, CIOE is the largest optoelectronics event in the world and close to
100,000 international and local professionals attended the event. CIOE is also
expected to have attracted close to 3,000 exhibitors and occupy 100,000 m2
of exhibition space together with the co-located Global
Sourcing Fair: Electronics & Components.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: Hangzhou-based e-commerce company, Alibaba Group, and computer manufacturer Acer had scheduled a
joint press conference to launch a new smartphone. The event was cancelled at
the last minute as Google
stepped in to halt what Google deems to be a breach of the Android Open Handset
Alliance agreement – signed by Acer.

Acer and Alibaba’s Cloud Computing unit were set to unveil the
Acer CloudMobile A800 smartphone, which runs on the Alibaba developed mobile
operating system, Aliyun 2.0 cloud OS.

Google’s Android chief,
Andy Rubin, described the Aliyun platform as a modified version of Android
which is incompatible with other Android devices and thus, as a member of the
Open Handset Alliance, Acer’s use of Aliyun would be a breach of that alliance
agreement.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

According to the
Beijing’s Tourism Department, a US$3.2 million fund was recently set-up to
encourage the private sector to bring more international conventions to the
city. In 2011, meetings and exhibition revenues in Beijing reached US$3.4
billion – an increase of 22% over 2010. While 286,000 meetings were hosted in
Beijing and incentive tourists rose 40% reportedly reaching 300,000.

Additionally, a new
alliance was launched at CIBTM. Eight cities, including Beijing, Shanghai,
Tianjin, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Kunming, Sanya and Xi’an, agreed to come together
to form the China MICE Cities Alliance.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: Singapore’s Sports
Hub venue is scheduled to open its doors in April 2014. The venue will
feature a 55,000 seat stadium, two 1,000 person restaurants, a multi-purpose
indoor area which can seat up to 3,000 as well as the Sports Information Resource
Centre. The Singapore government is forecasting the venue will host 140 events in the stadium each year. It expected
that annual visitors to the Sports Hub will be in the range of two to three
million.

Adrian Staiti, senior vice president of corporate partnerships & the
National Stadium Club stated, “We are designing a diverse calendar, peppered
with huge events that will transform tourism as well as the local sporting and
entertainment scene in Singapore.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

UBM Asia is anticipating that some 51,000 trade buyers will
attend the exhibition which will also feature 3,500 exhibitors covering more
than 130,000 m2. This exhibition is the centrepiece of UBM Asia’s
extensive jewellery event portfolio.

Celine Lau,
Director of Jewellery Fairs for UBM Asia commented, “The 30th
anniversary of the Fair is an important milestone that could only have been
achieved with our accumulated experience and professionalism plus great support
from the industry. The September Fair provides a timely opportunity for global
jewellers to source the latest products for the subsequent year.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Singapore & Malaysia, 7th September: Last week,
international exhibition organiser, UBM plc,
announced the launch of new events in Asia: the Singapore Jewellery & Gem
Fair and Rail Asia in Malaysia.

Singapore Jewellery
& Gem Fair will take place at the Marina Bay Sands
running from 12th to 15th October 2013. The exhibition
will feature exhibitors of diamonds, pearls, precious and semi-precious
gemstones, fine jewellery and silver jewellery. The new Singapore event will be
added to UBM Asia’s portfolio of 12
existing jewellery events in Hong Kong, Mainland China, India, Japan and
Turkey.

The theme of the
inaugural show will be ‘Transforming Rail Mobility Asia’ and it will include an
international exhibition & conference, business networking events and
technology symposiums. Products and services exhibited will include rail
infrastructure services, rail technology, rail revenue management, tunnelling,
and other related services.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: China’s largest B2B e-commerce company, the Alibaba Group, will pay its key shareholder,
U.S.-based Yahoo! Inc., US$7.6
billion to buy back a 20% stake in the company as a result of the agreement
reached in May this year.

Yahoo is expected to receive US$7.1 billion as soon as next
week, as well as a US$550 million payment related to the ending of annual licensing
fees Alibaba pays Yahoo. It is estimated Yahoo will receive approximately
US$4.5 billion from the deal after U.S. taxes.

The company initially invested US$1 billion in Alibaba in
2005. The sale leaves Yahoo holding approximately 20% of Alibaba shares. Under
the terms of the deal, Yahoo is required to sell an additional 10% if a future
Alibaba Group IPO occurs.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: Alibaba Group’s
consumer-focused e-commerce platform Taobao is looking to expand
its operations outside China in the near future. Taobao reportedly announced at
a press conference this month that the company has already attracted close to two
million users in Greater China - including 1.2 million members in Hong Kong and
500,000 in Taiwan.

Alibaba sees Hong Kong and Taiwan as stepping stones to its
internationalisation plans. According to media reports, the most popular product
categories for Taobao users from Taiwan and Hong Kong are women’s fashion items,
women’s shoes and consumer electronics.

Taobao is targeting a user base of three million in Taiwan
and aims to generate some 5% of the company’s gross merchandise volume from
outside of mainland China.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: Earlier this week, Pico
Thailand, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Pico
Far East Holdings, announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31st
July 2012. In the quarter, Pico
Thailand generated revenues of US$8.4 million or a 13% year-on-year increase. However,
the company’s net profit in the period dropped 60% to US$160,000.

Pico Thailand also
announced its results for the nine-month
period ended 31st July. Revenues in the period were US$31 million, a rise of 11% compared with the same period in
2011. Net profit was US$2.1 million in the nine-month period, an increase of 14% over the first nine months of last year. Earnings per share in the period were Baht 0.386.

The company attributed
the increase in revenues to growth in
its Event Marketing and Exhibition business, while the decrease in profit
was attributed to an increase in selling
and administrative expenses.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: According
to Indian media reports, a string of MICE venues and facilities are reportedly
set to receive upgrades or begin construction in the near future.

The New Delhi exhibition centre Pragati Maidan is reportedly
planning to add a 5,000 to 8,000 capacity convention centre to the venue site.
Exhibition organiser and venue owner India Trade Promotion
Organisation (ITPO) anticipates constructions to begin in two and a half
years’ time.

Separately, it was reported that the Pimpri Chinchwad New Township Development
Authority (PCNTDA) is preparing for the construction of the International
Exhibition and Convention Centre at Moshi, Maharashtra. The exhibition centre
will be built on a 200-acre plot with phase one of construction set to begin
once land rights issues are cleared.

Finally, the RP Group of Companies will
reportedly build a US$55 million convention centre with capacity for 3,000 in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Construction is set to begin in six months upon
receiving the necessary government approvals.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

The CWIEME portfolio consists of exhibitions in Germany, China, India
and the U.S. – as well as the Inductica Conferences. CWIEME exhibitions serve
the industrial technology niche of components for electric motors and transformers.

The annual CWIEME Berlin show was
first launched in 1996 and became the world’s largest international exhibition in
its category. CWIEME Chicago was added in 2008 and takes place
biennially. This was followed by CWIEME in India in 2009 which moved from Mumbai to
Bangalore in 2012. CWIEME Shenzhen is the latest addition which was launched as
a joint venture with VNU
Exhibitions in 2012.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

Friday, September 07, 2012

News this week: China’s e-commerce service provider, Zhejiang Netsun, announced
the launch of its B2B payment platform, SinoPay.com. According to Netsun, the company invested
US$16 million in its subsidiary company for the development of SinoPay.com.

Netsun will initially launch SinoPay.com on its own B2B platforms,
including B.toocle.com and Smallpin.com. In the second phase of the launch, the
company plans to expand its service to other major industry platforms across
China. Netsun cited the Chinese government’s 12th Five-year Plan where
e-commerce transaction value is projected to exceed US$2.8 trillion by 2015, of
which US$2.4 trillion will be generated from B2B transactions.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

IFSEC Southeast Asia is
the latest addition to the IFSEC brand of
shows which also includes geo clones in the U.K., India and Africa. UBM expects
the inaugural show to attract over 11,000 visitors next year.

Charlie Cracknell, event
director of IFSEC, was quoted saying, “Having acquired the ASEAN M&E Show,
UBM Live has taken the strategic decision to reposition its leading regional
events ISF (International Security &
Safety Expo Forum) and FIREC to establish IFSEC Southeast Asia as a
dedicated commercial security and fire event for the ASEAN and wider Southeast
Asia market in 2013.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

Johnson has previously worked
on the G2E portfolio of events for six years, and will continue to act as director
of sales and industry development for G2E Asia and G2E in Las Vegas. He will manage
all of G2E and G2E Asia’s related businesses, from management of exhibition to
development of conference programmes.

Reed’s senior VP
Courtney Muller was quoted, “Based on his energy, expertise and wide-ranging
experience, we look forward to Mike expanding on his current roles to help ensure
that G2E and G2E Asia continue to be the largest and most successful trade show
and conference events for gaming professionals.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

The ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA
and Asiafruit Congress events are organised by Global Produce Events GmbH, a
joint venture company owned by Messe
Berlin GmbH. ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA reports a 20% increase in exhibitor
numbers over the previous edition. The second edition of nutraceutical
ingredients event, Vitafoods Asia, is organised by Informa Exhibitions and debuted
at the AWE in 2011.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: The first edition of Japanese
cosmetics trade show, COSME TOKYO,
co-located with the International Cosmetics
Development Expo (COSME INNOVATION), reported the attendance of 324
exhibitors and 16,936 visitors from 43 countries – up from 141 exhibitors and
9,069 visitors in the 2011 show.

Organised by Reed Exhibitions Japan,
the co-located shows ran from 27th to 29th June at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition
centre. Products and services on display at the three-day show ranged from
ingredients and packaging to finished products for the cosmetics industry.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: eMedia
Asia Limited, a joint venture subsidiary of B2B media company Global Sources,
announced the launch of an IC and electronic components online database, DatasheetsChina.com, in
partnership with SiliconExpert Technologies Inc. Reportedly the world’s
largest, the Chinese-language database houses data of over 185 million ICs and
components from more than 10,000 global suppliers.

According to Global
Sources, the launch of the new app has attracted over 10,000 active mainland
Chinese engineer users in the opening weeks. Users of the app can post and
respond to comments, with pre-set content channels including ‘Editor’s
Recommendation’, ‘Portable Devices’, ‘Consumer Electronics’, ‘Telecommunication
& Security Electronics’, ‘Industry & Medical Electronics’, and
‘Automobile Electronics’.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.